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The Lion King is one of the most popular and highly-loved movie franchises from Disney. The latest installment from the franchise, “Mufasa: The Lion King,” is now out in theatres. This is a prequel to the 2019 photo-realistically animated feature, The Lion King. Apart from English, the movie was also dubbed into Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi. Superstar Mahesh Babu lent his voice to the lead character in the film. Here is the review of this much-anticipated movie.

What is it about?

The story begins with Simba and Nala embarking on a new journey. They leave their daughter Kiara with Timon and Pumbaa. After their departure, Kiara worries about her parents. That’s when Rafiki tells her the legendary story of her grandfather, Mufasa.

During his childhood, Mufasa (MaheshBabu) is separated from his parents by a flood and ends up in a land ruled by Obasi. Meanwhile, Obasi’s son, Taka (Satya Dev), becomes Mufasa’s close friend and a brother to him. When their clan is threatened by the Outsiders, Mufasa must protect the next king, Taka. The challenges they face and how they overcome those hurdles form the main crux of the film.

Performances

Superstar Mahesh Babu’s voice is the biggest asset for this movie. His fans would enjoy each and every frame where they hear Mahesh’s voice. He was supported well by Satyadev as Taka, Brahmanandam and Ali as Timon and Pumba respectively.

However, despite having a wonderful voicecast, the movie fails to live up to expectations. Due to the poor screenplay and outdated storyline, these stalwarts couldn’t save this project.

Technicalities

Every fan of the Lion King franchise is familiar with the world and its characters. So, all the writing team had to do was pack that world in an engaging narrative. That’s where Mufasa falters. Though director Barry Jenkins succeeded in pulling off great visuals, he could’ve concentrated on the story more. The screenplay by Jeff Nathanson is weak and lacks any emotional depth.The film is all about its visuals, and Team Disney should be commended for bringing out such exhilarating visuals onscreen. The details are so rich, and so are the live animation works. The music was a big letdown. It doesn’t feature any evoking background score or a memorable album like the original version.

Thumbs Up
Mahesh Babu and other actors’ voiceovers
Stunning visuals
Nostalgic feel

Thumbs Down
Lack of emotional depth
Boring screenplay
Music

Analysis

Director Barry Jenkins is known for making the Oscar-winning feature,Moonlight. Mufasa is his first photo-realistically animated movie. The firstpart, The Lion King (2019), was directed by Jon Favreau and was a big hit at the box office. However, he failed to recreate the magic of the original version. The same is the case with Barry. He succeeded in bringing out visuals and characters well but didn’t give that emotional punch to the audience.

Though we are engaged with the enchanting voices of Mahesh Babu, Satya Dev, Brahmanandam, Ali, and others, the scenes don’t work at all. A few one-liners of Brahmi and Ali work and Zazu’s dialogueskeep us entertained in bits and partys. The music was a big letdown. On thewhole, Mufasa: The Lion King is a boring watch for Mahesh Babu fans and an utterly disappointing watch for the original version’s fans. Only kids who didn’t watch the original may find it entertaining.

Bottomline: Even Superstar Couldn’t Save This Dull Prequel!